Everything about the 14 robot spiders is high-tech and designed and made by the students themselves. That makes this 'spiderdance' attractive for our high-tech companies. Here our possible future colleagues show their best. The challenge is great, hence the formation of so-called multidisciplinary teams with the specialisms electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science. It also places high demands on the collaboration skills of the no fewer than 150 aspiring engineers and their communication skills.

Independent

Without human intervention, the robot spider must independently perform all kinds of tasks, such as searching for eggs and delivering them in one piece to a special counter. The combination of cameras (vison) with smart software plays an important role in this. Catching ping-pong balls that fly around the spiders left and right, while they have to follow a set track, requires advanced sensor technology. As if this wasn't difficult enough, the robots must also move gracefully to music and even be able to perform dance steps.

high tech

From the drawing board to the light metal version, the students also use the latest techniques. They made prototypes with a 3D printer and with the help of a water jet machine the countless aluminum parts were cut exactly to size. The electrotechnicians are enjoying themselves with miniaturization, making the ICs as small as possible, making cables superfluous. The spiders' brains consist of intelligent software, with which the robot gradually learns from its actions and gets better every time. Not surprisingly, this assignment fits in perfectly with the collaboration between NHL and our business cluster. That's why we're so excited about it.

Spider Day

Wednesday, June 28, the game starts at 10.15 am in De Kuil of the NHL, with a speed race. This is followed by an obstacle course, an egg-picking competition, a dance competition and a shooting competition. The prize giving will be at 3 p.m. Those who want to experience it can send an e-mail to s.oosterhaven@nhl.nl